Bristle handling apparatus



March 1, 1960 E. ROLKER snxsm: HANDLING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 11, 1954 March 1, 1960 E. ROLKER BRISTLE HANDLING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed .Jun 11, 1954 Nmm INVENT OR M A [W March 1, 1960 E. ROLKER J 2,926,952

BRISTLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 11, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN OR March 1, 1960 E. ROLKER BRISTLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 11, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR March 1, 1960 E. ROLKER BRISTLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 11. 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR March 1, 1960 E ROLKER 2,926,952

BRISTLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 11, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet e INYENTOR BRISTLE HANDLING APPARATUS Edwin Rolker, Baltimore, Md.; Gertrude H. Rolker, executrix of saidEdwin Rolker, deceased Application June 11, 1954, Serial No. 436,022

1 Claim. (Cl. 300-18) This invention relates to bristle handling apparatus, and, more particularly, to apparatus for forming bristle into a continuous ribbon of bristles of uniform thickness which may be secured on a pre-formed head to form a brush.

The manufacture of paint brushes has for many years involved the assembly of a knot, or group, of bristles in one end of a tubularlferrule, and a suitable handle secured to the other end of the ferrule. Initially, these operations were performed manually and required a skilled brush-maker who selected the required quantity of bristles for a particular size of brush and inserted the bristles into the ferrule. After the bristles were positioned in the ferrule, a suitable cement such as liquid rubber was applied to the butt ends of the bristles and thereafter cured to bond the bristles together. After the curing step a suitable handle was secured to the ferrule to complete the brush. In order to eliminate many of these manual operations, various types of brush-making machines. have been developed for automatically forming bristle into knots and subsequently inserting a knot at predetermined distance into a preformed tubular ferrule, the ferrule being designed to determine the shape and size of the bristle body of the finished brush.

Brush-making machines of this general type are shown in US. Patents 2,033,258 granted to L. W. Simms, et al. Mar. 10, 1936, 2,513,016 granted to M. I. First, June 27, 1950, and 2,609,241 granted to M. I. First, Sept. 2, 1952.

Brush-making machines became increasingly more complicated and complex asthe art advanced in the development of machines capable of making brushes in a greater range of sizes than that possible with earlier machines, of segregating a uniform quantity of bristles in each bristle knot, handling various grades of bristles, and handling large quantities of bristles in the form of knots without loss of bristles from the knotsso that the completed brushes will contain the required quota of bristles. An-

other fractor which made the manufacture of brushes by .such machines dilficult is that the bristle knot must be gripped tightly when it is forced into the ferrule. Due to the fact that natural bristles are tapered, having a thick butt end and relatively light or thin flag end, it is extremely difiicult to grip a knot of bristles and insert it into the ferrule without losing some of the outer bristles. It appears that the brush-making machine art has been plagued with these andnumerous other problems through the years because the art has concentrated on the develop ment of machines for manufacturing brushesin the form of the early-type of brush structurethat was developed for the manufacture of brushes entirely by hand.

The present invention provides an improved automatic United States Patent machine for handling and processing bristles for the 2,926,952 Patented Mar. 1, 1960 ness may be readily fabricated without using a tubular ferrule and consequently without using the complex and complicated automatic mechanism employed in the prior art machines to convey the bristle knots and the ferrules in timed relation, and to insert a knot of bristles into a ferrule.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine which is capable of forming bristles into a ribbon of bristle of predetermined thickness from which brushes of any desired width or thickness may be fabricated.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a machine capable of supplying bristles in a form in which they may be readily assembled on, and bonded to, a suitable bristle supporting member without the use of a tubular ferrule and the associated ferrule handling and feeding apparatus found in brush-making machines in use at the present time.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automatically segregating from a mixture of bristles .edge of the preceding pad abutting the leading edge of the next succeeding pad. The successive formation of pads on the conveying means produces a continuous ribbon of bristles of predetermined thickness on the conveying means. The ribbon of bristles is conveyed intermittently past apparatus which applies a liquid cement to the butt ends of the bristles, apparatus for evaporating the solvent from the cement, and apparatus which combs bristles to remove short bristles and those bristles not securedin the cement from the ribbon of bristles.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will readily appear from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof when read in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1A is a front view of a portion of a bristle handling machine;

Fig. 1B is the remaining left end of the machine shown Fig. 1A;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the right-hand portion of the machine shown, in Fig. 1;

"Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a bristle separating mechanism taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2

but with some parts thereof shown in a position different from that shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the struc- Y Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a vertical'section taken along line 9 9 of Fig. 1A;

' Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken along line 10-10 of Fig. 1B;

Fig. 11 is a front view of a paint brush with portions thereof broken away for reasons of clarity, and

Fig. 12 is a vertical section taken along line 12--12 of Fig. 11 to show that the bristle body of the brush shown in Fig. 11 is made from bristle ribbon formed by the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, and, more particularly, to Figs. 1A and 4, there is shown a bristle supply hopper, indicated generally at 20, which consists of a tubular member 21 mounted slidably on guide 22 secured in an upright position on an angle-iron frame 25 designed to support the various components of the bristle-handling machine. The side of the tubular member 21 opposite the guide 22 has an opening 26, and plates 27 and 28 secured to opposite sides of the opening 26 to form vertical side walls of the bristle hopper 20. A plate 30 forming the rear wall of the hopper is mounted adjustably in the tubular member 21 by means of wing nuts 2929, in order that it may be selectively positioned with respect to the side walls 27 and 28 to suit the length of bristles to be placed in the hopper. It is contemplated that a supply of bristles 32, of predetermined length, is positioned between the plates 27 and 28 of the hopper with their butt ends resting against the rear wall 30 f the hopper.

The hopper 26 is positioned on the frame 25 so that walls 27 and 28 hold the bristle supply 32 directly over the receiving end of a conveyor 36, preferably an endless roller chain, which is designed to carry a continuous ribbon of bristles from the hopper 2G successively past various stations of the machine in a manner hereinafter to be described. The conveyor 36 is designed to support the bristle transversely across the side links of the chain so that the, bristle overhangs the chain slightly at the butt ends and flag ends thereof. The conveyor 36 travels around a path determined by the position of guide sheaves 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 rotatably supported on the frame 25. The conveyor 36 is driven intermittently by movement of a pawl 45 into successive engagement with a ratchet 46 keyed to a shaft 47 mounted rotatably on the frame. The shaft 47, in turn, rotates sprockets 50-50 which engage and drive the conveyor 36 from right to left when viewed in Fig. 1. The pawl 45 is mounted pivotally on an arm 53 secured on the end of theshaft 47 and connected by a rod 54 to a pin 53 mounted eccentrically on a sprocket'60 keyed to a shaft 61 mounted rotatably on the frame 25. A gear reducer and motor unit 64 drives the sprocket 6t. and a sprocket 65 secured on a shaft 63 (Fig. 8) journalled in bearings secured to the frame 25 in a counterclockwise direction when viewed in Fig. 1A, by means of an endless roller chain 66. As the motor 64 turns the sprocket 60 in a counterclockwise direction, the reciprocatory motion of the rod 54 oscillates the arm 53 between limits determined by the throw of a pin 58, and thereby causes the pawl to turn the ratchet on each stroke of the rod 54 to the left, which movement of the ratchet turns the sprockets Sit-50 which in turn moves the conveyor 36 intermittently to the left in predetermined increments of travel.

The motor 64 also rotates a cam 67 keyed to the shaft 61, and rotation of the cam 67 moves a crosshead 68 to the left in a crosshead guide 76 secured to the frame 25 (Figs. 1A, 2, and 4). A spring '71 is connected to a pivotally mounted arm 72 to cause a roller 73 attached to the crosshead to follow the periphery of the cam 67 and thereby return the crosshead from its extreme left-hand position determined by the major diameter portion of the cam 67 to its extreme right-hand position determined by .the minor diameter of the cam. A bristle separating the finger 77 normally rests on top of the finger 76. I The and between the walls 27 and 28 of the hopper. the fingers 76 and 77 reach their extreme left-hand posimined distance above the conveyor by an adjusting screw 81 (Fig. 1A) which engages the free end of arm 82 mountedpivotally on the frame 25 and supporting a guide sheave 37 for the right end of conveyor 36. The side walls 27 and 28 of the hopper 20 normally rest on the conveyor 36 as shown in Fig. 3, and thereby position the lower end of the bristle supply 32 directly against and transversely across the conveyor 36 (Pig. 2).

A bristle-packing device, indicated generally at 35-, incude's a bell crank 86 mounted pivotally on the hopper 20 and actuated by a cam 87 keyed to the shaft 61 by means of a connecting link 88 and abeil crank 90 mounted on the frame and having the free end thereof urged to follow the periphery of the cam by a spring 91. The cam 87, the bell crank 90, the link 83, and the bell crank 36 are arranged to move an arm 92 into and out of the bristle supply in timed relation with respect to the movement of the fingers 76 and 77 by the cam 67. A downward movement of the free end of the arm 92 is controlled by a bellcrank 95 mounted pivotally on the bell crank 86 at 97 and connected to the opposite end of the arm 92 by a link 98. When the end of the bell crank 90 engages the minor diameter portion of the cam 87, the spring 91 actuates the bell crank 86 to move the arm 92 from a position outside the hopper 2.0 as shown in Fig. 1 to a position in which the free end of the arm 92 is entirely within the hopper as shown in Fig. 4. As the arm 92 nears its innermost position, a spring-biased plunger 100 mounted on the free end of hell crank 95 strikes the wall of the hopper 20. As the crank 86 continues to move the arm 92 into the bristle supply 32 the bell crank 95 turns in a clockwise direction about its pivot point 97 on the bell crank 86 and thereby moves the free end of the arm 92 downwardly as it moves through the bristles. This downward movement of the free end of the arm 92 packs the bristle supply 32 below the arm tightly against the conveyor 36 (Figs. 3 and 4).

The earns 67 and 87 are keyed on the shaft 61 so as to operate the bristle-packing mechanism 85 and the bristleseparating mechanism 75 in predetermined timed relationwherein the cam 87 operates the bell crank 90 and the bell crank 86 so as tomove the arm 92 into the bristle supply 32 (Fig. 3) and thereby pack the bristles tightly and firmly against the conveyor 36, and thereafter the cam 67 moves the crosshead 6S and the fingers 76 and 77 of the bristle-separating device 75 attached thereto to the left into the mass of tightly packed bristles below the end 93 of the arm 92, as seen in Fig. 4. This movement of the fingers 76 and 77 intothe bristle supply as shown in Fig. 4 forms a pad of bristle's'ltlS beneath the finger 76 After tion, the major diameter portion of the cam 37 actuates the bell crank 90 in a direction to cause the rocker arm 86 to withdraw the arm 92 rapidly from the hopper 20. Upon withdrawal of the arm 92 from the hopper, a cam 106, keyed on the shaft 63 driven by the gear 65 and chain 66 (Fig. 1A) is arranged to actuate a lever 107 mounted pivotally on the frame 25 at 110 so as to move the right end thereof upwardly (Fig. 1A). The movement imparted to the right end of the lever 107 by cam 106 is transmitted to the hopper 20 by a push rod 111, whereupon the hopper is moved upwardly on the guide bar 22. The hopper 20 is provided with a lug 112 which engages an arm 115-secured transversely on the upper finger 77 and thereby lifts the upper finger 77 when the hopper is moved upwardly by the cam 106. The movement of the finger 77 with the hopper carries the bristle supply 32 upwardly with the hopper leaving only the bristle pad 105 between the finger 76 and the conveyor 36, as shown in Fig. 4.

The cam 106 is designed to maintain the hopper 29 and finger 77 in their uppermost positions (Fi 4) for a period of time sutficient to permit the sprocket 66 to move the pawl 45 to the left and turn the sprockets as ume 50-50 which drive the conveyor. The movement of the. conveyor 36 is sufficient to carry the bristle pad 165 from a position beneath the finger 76 to a position slightly beyond the left wall 27 of the hopper. The arm 76 holds the pad 165 in a tightly packed condition as the conveyor 36 carries it to the right to a position slightly beyond the Wall 27 of the hopper where it is engaged by a pair of endless belts 126-121). When the arm 76 is in the position shown in Fig. 4 the free end thereof passes between the belts 120-120 and extends slightly beyond the centerline of the pulley 121 to maintain the pad 105 intact until it is positioned between the conveyor 36 and the belts Mil-12h. The belts 120-120 travel in parallel paths around idler pulleys 1'21, 122, 123 and also engage suitably spaced semicircular grooves provided in the periphery of the pulley 49. The pulleys 121, 126 and 127 are arranged on the frame .25 to guide the belts 120-125) so that they are spaced a predeterminedfixed distance from the conveyor as determined by thejdesired thickness of the bristle pad 135. The belts 1213-121) preferably are spaced apart on the pulleys 41), 121,122, and 123 so that they are aligned vertically with the edges of the conveyor. The belts 1219-120 are driven by a pulley 123 keyed to the shaft 47 driven by the ratchet and pawl, and a pulley 129 mounted on a shaft 130 and connected thereto by a belt 131. The pulley 126 is keyed to the shaft, whereby each movement of the pawl moves the conveyor 36 and the belts 126-120 (Figs. 1A and 2). During the time required for the conveyor 36 to move the pad 1-195 from beneath the arm 76 the cam 106 has turned to a position in which the minor diameter portion Lhereof engages the left end of the arm 1117 and lowers the hopper 2% to rest on the conveyor 36 (Fig. 3). This movementflof the hopper returns the arm 77 to rest on thearm 76. Immediately following this downward movement of the hopper 2b, the cam 67 is in such a position that the spring 7 retracts the slide 68 and the arms it? and 77 to the right to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The bristle supply falls downwardly upon withdrawal of the arms '76 and '77 and rests on the chain belt, and the cam 87 has turned to a position in which it permits the spring 91 to move the arm 92 into the bristle hopper 20 so asto pack the lower portion of the bristle supply tightly against the conveyor 36 in the manner described hereiuabovec Thereafter, the cam 67 moves the arms 76 and 77 into the mass of tightly packed bristles, the arm 76 forming another bristle pad 105 on the conveyor 36. The springpresscd stop 1% allows the arm 92 to move upwardly slightly as the arms 76 and 77 move through the tiglr- 1y packed bristles. When the arms 76 and 77 reach the end of their movement to the left, (Fig. 4), the cam 87 withdraws the arm 9-2 from the bristle supply 332, the cam 1636 moves the hopper Zil, the arm 77, and the bristle supply upwardly, and the sprocket 6t actual-es the pawl and ratchet to move the pad from beneath the arm in the sequence named. The leading edge of the subsequently formed pad 185 abuts the trailing edge of the previously formed pad 165 due to the tendency of the bristle pads to spread slightly under the pressure applied thereto by the belts 12% 121i. it should be noted here that the pulley 122 is mounted pivotally on the frame in orderthat it may be adjusted to maintain a tension on the belts 129-120 suflicient to hold the pads 1695 in a tightly packed condition. Qontinucd operation of motor 64 produces bristle pads in the manner described, which run together on the conveyor 35 into a substantially continuous ribbon of bristles,

past.bristleistraightening mechanism indicated generally at135 bristle tamping mechanism indicatedtgenerab (Figs. 1A and 7).

cured to the frame.

. 6 1y at 136 (Figs. 6 and 7). The bristle straightening mechanism includes a comb 137 having an arm 138 pivotally attached to a pair of parallel levers 140-140, which in turn are pivotally mounted on the frame 25 The cam 106, driven by the motor o lin the manner described hereinabove, also engages a follower 141 mounted on an arm 142, mounted pivotally on the frame 25 (Fig. 1A). A rod 143 connects the free end of the arm 142 to one of the parallel levers 1 113-1419. The cam is designed to lower the comb from its uppermost position shown in Fig. 1A to its lowermost position shown in Figs. 7 and8 while the ribbon of bristles is stationary, which condition occurs while the pawl 45 is being moved from its extreme left-hand position to its extreme right-hand position by the sprocket This movement of the comb positions the teeth of the comb between the rollers of the conveyor so that secured on the shaft63 (Fi 8) actuates a bell-crank 14 6, pivotally mounted on the frame 25 so as to reciprocate a plate 147 slidably mounted in a guide 150 se- The plate 147 carries a tamper 151 adiustably mounted on the free end thereof which engages the flag ends of the portion of the ribbon of bristles resting opposite the tamper'and engaged by the cornb137. The movement of the tamper pushes the bri t transversely against an endless belt 1156 held in a predetermined position by stop 157 and pulleys 53-1533 secured to the frame. Thus, the reciproce ory movement of the tamper aligns the butt ends of the ristles against the belt res. The stroke of the tamper is such that it pushes even the shorter bristles of the bristle ribbon'against the belt 156. The comb 1217 pree-r i vents the bristles from buckling at the mid-portions when engaged by the tamper, whereby all deflection orbend ing of the bristles occurs at the soft flag ends after the stiffer butt ends have engaged the belt 156. The tamper 151 is reeiprocated a predetermined number of strokes each time the bristle ribbon is stationary to make certain that all the bristles of the ribbon have their butt ends accurately aligned against the belt. The tamper 151' is operated by the oam145 each time the ribbon is stationary, whereby the ribbon leaving the tamping mechanism is now in condition to have the butt ends of the bristles cemented together in a manner hereinafter to be described.

Each time the pawl 45 is in a position to start its movement to the right to cause the conveyor to advance a pad 111 5 from the hopper and the .ribbon of bristles past the combing and tarhping devices, the cam 1116 has already actuated the comb 1257 to its uppermost position. The ribbon of bristles 139 is advanced intermittently from the combing device 135 around a portion of the periphery of the sheave All by the conveyor 36 and belts l2fi-120, sheave 40 being substantially larger in diameter than the sheaves 37, 3'8, 42, and 43 engaged by the conveyor. As the bristle ribbon passes around the sheave 40 an applicator, indicated generally at 161), applies a liquid rubbercement to the butt ends of the bristles. plicator 166 comprises four square wiper plates 161-161 mounted, spacedly on a shaft 162 journalled in the left arm of a U-shaped support 163. The closed end of the support 163 is mounted pivotally on a. shaft ,165 journalled in bearings 166-166 secured to the frame 25. Four square wiper plates 167-167 are mounted spacedly on a shaft 168 journalled in the right arm of the support 163 in horizontal alignment with the shaft 162. A shaft 171'} journalled in the left arm of the support 163, in vertical alignment with the shafts 162 and 168, carries a plurality of discs 171-171. The discs are spaced on the shaft 171) so that they lie between the plates 161-161 and 167-167.

A gear 172 keyed on the shaft adjacent to the left The apside of the support 163 engages a gear 173 secured on the shaft 170, which, in turn, engages a gear 174 secured on the shaft 162. A gear 176 secured to the shaft 165 adjacent to the right side of the support engages an idler gear 177, which, in turn, engages a second idler gear 180 which meshes with a gear 181 secured to the shaft 168. The shaft 165 is driven by an electric motor 182, which shaft, in turn, rotates the plates 161-161 through the gears 172, 173 and 174, in a counterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 9, the plates 167-167 in a clockwise direction through the gears 176, 177, 130, and 1'01, and the discs 171-171 in a clockwise direction through the gears 172 and 173. A pan 1 85 is mounted in the base of the U-shaped member 163 for maintaining a supply of liquid cement compound in contact with the discs 171- 171 as they rotate in a clockwise direction. The plates 161-161 and 167-167 are designed so that only the corners thereof pass between the discs and wipe off the cement picked up by the discs as they turn through the cement in the pan (Fig. 9). The plates are rotated at a speed which will cause the cement picked up from the discs to concentrate at the corners due to centrifugal force acting on the mass of cement, but will not cause the cement to fly off the plates 161-161 and 167-167.

When the bristle ribbon is being advanced around the sheave 40, the applicator 160 is held in the position shown in Fig. 9 by the cam 106 which engages the left end of the arm 107 which is connected to one end of a lever 183 mounted pivotally on the frame (Fig. 1A) by a connecting link 185. The other end of the lever 183 is connected to the base of the U-shaped support 163 by a connecting link 186. While the major diameter portion of the cam engages the end of the rod 107, it holds the hopper 20 in its uppermost position and the application in the position shown in Fig. 9, in which the corners of the plates 161-161 and 167-167 pass between the butt ends of the bristles as the ribbon is advanced by the conveyor 36. The plates 161-161 wipe the liquid cement on the butt end portions of the bristles With a downward motion from the upper side of the ribbon, while the plates 167-167 wipe cement on the butt end portions of the bristles with an upward motion from the lower side of the ribbon. While the plates are engaging the butt ends of the bristles in this manner, the ribbon is advancing to the left past the plates, and this movement of the bristles across the corners of the plates spreads the butt ends of portions as they move from plate to plate. Thus, the movement of the ribbon, together with the rotation of the plates 161-161 and 167-167 in opposite directions is designed to make certain that an ample amount of cement is applied to the butt end portion of each of the bristles in the bristle ribbon. When the minor diameter portion of the cam engages the left end of the arm 107, the arm 107 pivots in a clockwise direction to lower the hopper and actuates the lever 183 so that it pivots the applicator 160 out of engagement with the bristle ribbon. While the cam 106 holds the applicator in this position, the bristle ribbon is stationary and a pad of bristles is formed at the base of the hopper 20 by the finger 76.

A pump 190, driven by a suitable electricmotor, delivers a predetermined continuous supply of liquid cement from a supply tank 191 to the pan 185 in order to maintain cement at the proper level in the pan 185. The cement applied to the bristles may be a liquid rubber compound, a liquid synthetic rubber compound such as a liquid neoprene compound or other similar compounds which may be cured by the application of heat and pressure into a tough, substantially rigid material.

The ribbon advances intermittently from the applicator 160' around a portion of the sheave 127 and, thence, around a portion of the guide sheave '42. From the sheave 42 the conveyor carries the ribbon horizontally to the guide sheave 43, at which point the ribbon passes to an inclined slide 195. As the ribbon 130 travels from the sheave 40 to the sheave 42 it is desirable to evaporate the solvent from the cement in order to change its con-' sistency to a stiff and substantially dry condition before it leaves. The evaporation of the solvent from the cement may be accomplished by various means, such as directing a stream of warm air against the cement by means of a nozzle 196 and an air line 197 connected to a source of air under pressure (not shown.) While the solvent may be evaporated from the cement by other drying means, it is to be understood that the rubber cement is not heated to the temperature required to cure the rubber, but only to a temperature sufficient to remove the highly volatile solvent from the cement. When substantially all the solvent is removed from the cement, it becomes stiff and tough and holds the bristles of the ribbon together, whereby the butt ends thereof remain properly aligned and the thickness of the ribbon is maintained at the value determined by the bristle separating mechanism. Whereas the pads -105 of the ribbon actually touch each other on the belt 36 prior to the application of the cement, the pads and all the bristles thereoflare firmly bonded together by the cement.

A bristle-combing apparatus, indicated generally at 200 is positioned adjacent to the ribbon as it travels from sheave 42 to sheave 43. The combing apparatus includes a wire wheel 201 fixed to the shaft of an electric motor 202 mounted on a support 203 secured to the frame 25. The wheel 201 is mounted adjacent to the flag end side of the bristle ribbon and slightly above the ribbon. Dur ing the period when the ribbon is not moving past the Wheel 201, a cam 208 mounted on the shaft 63 driven by the motor 64 in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 1A) actuates a lever 210 mounted pivotally on the frame in a clockwise direction. This movement of the lever'210 is imparted to one end of a bell crank 212 pivotally mounted on the frame by a connecting link 211. The other end of the bell crank is connected to a finger 205 by a connecting link 213. The finger 205 is mounted pivotally on a finger 206, which finger is, in turn, mounted vpivotally on a bracket 207 secured to the frame 25. This movement of the bell-crank 212 in a counterclockwise direction moves the upper finger 205 downwardly until a portion of the ribbon 130 is gripped between pads 215 and 216 secured on the ends of the fingers 205 and 206, respectively. After the fingers grip a portion of the rib bon, continued movement of the bell-crank pivots the fingers together in a counterclockwise direction about the bracket 207 until the finger 206 engages a stop 218. When the finger engages the stop 218, the cemented butt end portion of the ribbon is gripped firmly between the pads 215 and 216 with sufiicient force to compress the cemented portion of the ribbon to the desired thickness. This movement ofthe fingers raises the portion of the bristle ribbon gripped thereby into the rotating wire wheel 201. The wire wheel combs the short bristles and those not held in the cement out of the ribbon. When the minor diameter portion of the cam 208 engages the end of the lever 210, the lever moves to the left and turns the bell-crank 212 in a clockwise direction, which, in turn, pivots the fingers about the bracket in a clockwise direction until the finger 206 engages a stop 217. At this position of the fingers 205 and 206 the portion of the bristle ribbon is deposited on the conveyor 36. Continued movement of the bell-crank in this direction raises the upper finger 205 so that pads on the ends of the fingers are completely disengaged from the bristle ribbon. The pads 215 and 216 attached to the ends of the fingers 205 and 206 are designed to grip a portion of the bristle ribbon at least equal in length to the pad formed at the base of the hopper. Since each successive movement of the conveyor 36 is equal to the length of the pad 105, the entire bristle ribbon is combed by the wire wheel by successive operation of the fingers 205 and 206 before the ribbon reaches the sheave 43 and the slide 195.

In addition to holding a portion of the ribbon while it is combed by the wire wheel 201, the pads 215 and 216 on the fingers apply sufficient pressure on the cemented portion of the ribbon to cause the butt ends of the bristles to adhere more firmly to each other. By the time the ribbon reaches the combing apparatus 200 substantially all of the solvent of the rubber cement has been evaporated therefrom and the cement has little or no tendency to adhere to most non-rubber substances. In order to assure that the cement does not adhere to the pads 215 and 216, they are made of phenol formaldehyde resin commonly referred to by the trade name of Bakelite, or a synthetic material prepared by the interaction of adipic acid and hex-amethylene diamine which is usually referred to by the trade name .nylonf I have found in actual practice that the rubber cement does not adhere to either of these substances and that they do not become contaminated with cement and hence require no cleaning over substantial periods of operation.

The bristle ribbon 132 is formed in the manner describedhereinabove to be used in the manufacture of brushes like that shown in Fig. 11. The brush shown in Fig. 11 is disclosed and claimed in my copen'ding application Serial No. 281,185, filed April 8, 1952, for Brushes of bristles placed in the hopper 20.

Let it be assumed that a supply of pro-formed uncured rubber heads, like the head 220 shown Fig. 11, is available at or near the slide 195 of the ribbon forming machine. A portion of bristle, ribbon is'placed on the head 220 so that the butt ends of the bristles engage the inner horizontal shoulders 221 and 222 with the cemented portion of the ribbon against the surfaces 224 and 225 of the head. The bristle ribbon is formed neatly on these surfaces of the head and pressed firmly against the head in order to make the cement stick to the head. Next, suitable portions of the bristle ribbon are placed on the head so that the butt ends engage the shoulders 226 and 227 with the cemented end of the ribbon engaging the surfaces 230 and 231 disposed on opposite sides of the head as shown. The head is made of rubber so that the cement adheres readily to the head suitable lengths of the bristle ribbon placed on the head in the manner described. A cap 232 is placed over the head and over the butt end of the outer "layer' of bristles, and the brush body and head assembly is placed in suitable molding apparatus, (not shown) to subject the head and the cement to sufficient heat and pressure to cure the head and the cement simultaneously into a tough, homogeneous rubber member. As a result,

all the bristles are firmly bonded together and to the head for a distance well below the butt ends of the bri s fles, which distance .is determined by the distance the cement applying discs penetrate the bristle ribbon. The penetration of the cement into the bristle ribbon is critical, depending upon the length of bristle stock used in making a brush like that shown in Fig. 1.1 In the above described machine, the penetration of the cement into the ribbon of bristles is determined and accurately controlled by the amount of movement imparted to the cement applying plates by the cam 106 and the system of levers 183, 185 and 186.

The bristle forming machine described hereinabove may be designed to process bristle stock ranging in length from the bristle stock used in small paint-and varnish brushes to the substantially longer and heavier bristles used in large wall brushes by making the width of the chain belt 36 to suit the length of the shortest bristle to be handled by the machine. The overhang of the bristle on the chain may be fixed with respect to the butt end of the bristles of the ribbon, in which case the variation in the length of bristle used will merely affect the overhang of the flag-end of the bristles of the ribbon.

0 Operation In the manufacture of paint brushes, hog bristles, horse hair, or synthetic fibers such as nylon bristles or a mixture thereof is commonly used to form the bristle body, and

, the length of the bristle used is selected to suit the size and type of brush desired. Usually, natural bristle stock is packaged in small bundles, banded or wrapped to keep the bristle together, and the bristles are packed in the bundle so that all the butt ends'are aligned at one end of the bundle. Natural bristle such as hog bristle, varies in length, and in packaging the bristle in'to bundles of predetermined lengths each bundle of bristle stock contains a small percentage of bristle which is shorter than the length marked on the bundle. However, the variations in the length of the bristles occur at the flag end of the bundle and does not interfere with the manufacture of brushes therefrom.

Having selected the size of bristle to be used, a number of bundles of bristle stock are placed in the hopper 20 between the walls 27 and 28, and having the butt ends of the bristlesresting against the rear wall 30. It is to be understood that the rear wall 30 is adjusted to properly position the bristle across the conveyor 36. Asuitable weight not shown) may be positioned on the top of the bristles to pack them firmly in the hopper and against the conveyor. i l

Let it be assumed 'thatthe motors 64-, 182 and 202 are connected to a source of electric potential and that the motors are energized by suitable electric switch means (not shown) to place the machine in operation. Let it be further assumed that the motors were energized with the cam tee in a position in which it positions the bottom or the hopper on the conveyor as shown in Fig. 3. With the hopper in this position the minor diameter portion of the cam 87 engages the free end of the bell crank 90 thereby allowing the spring 91 to rotate the crank in a clockwise direction and, moves the end 93 of the arm 92 of the bristle packing mechanism 85 into the mass of bristles in the hopper. The end 93 of the arm 92 moves through the bristles with a downward motion and packs the bristle firmly against the conveyor. Immediately after the arm is positioned in the bristles, the major diameter portion of the cam 67 moves the crosshead 68 to the left when viewed in Fig. 1A. This movement of the crosshead 67 carries the rigid finger .76 and the finger 77 mounted pivotally thereon into the mass of bristles in the hopper as seen in Fig. 3. Let it be assumed that the sprocket 37 is positioned by the adjusting screw 81 to provide a predetermined space between the rigid finger 76 and the top surface of the conveyor. fingers 76 and 77" are positioned in the bristles, 'a pad 1% of tightly packed bristles is formed between the, finger 76 and the conveyor. When the fingers reach the end of their travel to the left, the cam 87 actuates the bell crank '90 so as to withdraw the arm 92 from the hopper and the major diameter portion of the cam 106 urges the arm 1%? in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1A) about the support 119, thereby sliding the hopper 20 upwardly on theguide 22. The lug 112 engages the bar 115 secured on the arm 77 and lifts the arm 77 upwardly with the hopper, whereby the arm 77 holds the bristles in the a to the left a distance sufficient to position the bristle pad res so that the right side thereof is aligned vertically with the outside surface of the Wall 27 of the hopper. When the pad reaches this position the cam 106 allows the hopper to assume its lowermost position and rest on the conveyor 36. V I

Thus, when the Successive operation of the bristle packing mechanism 85, the bristle separating fingers 76 and 77, the hopper 20, and the conveyor 36 in the manner described produces bristle pads 105 which collect on the chain belts in the form of a substantially continuous ribbon of bristle 130 of predetermined thickness. 130 passes from the hopper on the chain belts it is engaged by a pair of endless upper belts 120120 driven by the ratchet and pawl and arranged to press the bristles tightly against the conveyor.

The conveyor 36 and the belts 120-120 carry the ribbon of bristle 130 intermittently past the bristle straightening mechanism 135 and bristle tamping mechanism 136. During each interval that the conveyor is at restthe cam 106 lowers the comb 137 into the bristle ribbon as shown in Fig. 9, and the tamper 151 is reciprocated by the cam 145 so as to pack the butt ends of the bristles in the ribbon against the belt 156. The comb aligns the bristles transversely across the conveyor 36 and. keeps the body portion of the bristles from buckling when the tamper pushes the bristles against the belt 156. The fiag-ends of the bristles bend under the action when the ends of longer bristles engage the belt 156, in which case the tamper also engages the shorter bristles in the ribbon and pushes their butt ends against the belt 156.

The straightening and tamping devices prepared the ribbon for the application of a suitable rubber cement on bristles slightly, whereby the plates wipe the cement into the bristle ribbon for a predetermined distance as shown in Fig. 9. As the ribbon is engaged by the applicator it is held firmly by the chain belts and the upper belts, due to the fact that at this point the belts engage the large pulley v40. Air under pressure from the pipe 197 is directed on the cement to evaporate the solvent from the liquid rubber cement as soon as practical and thereby dry the cement into stiff and substantially tack free condition.

As the conveyor 36 and 120-120 pass around the pulley 42, the belts 120-120 pass around the pulley 123 and the conveyor carries the ribbon horizontally past a wire wheel 201. The wire wheel is arranged to engage the ribbon 130 during the interval when the belts are at rest and comb the ribbon so as to remove the short bristles which are not secured in the ribbon by the cement. A pair of fingers 205 and 206 are actuated by the cam 208 so as to grip a portion of the bristle ribbon and raise it into engagement with the wire wheel. Successive portions of the ribbon 130 are combed by the wire wheel as the ribbon is intermittently advanced by the conveyor to the inclined tray 195 which is arranged to feed the As the ribbon of bristle ribbon to a suitable collecting tray or table (not shown.)

The bristle ribbon may be used in the manufacture of many types of brushes, one type being the paint brush shown in Fig. 11. Suitable lengths of the bristle ribbon are placed on opposed surfaces formed on the rubber head by the inner shoulders 221 and 222 and outer shoulders 226 and 227. The rubber head and the cement are cured simultaneously to bond the bristles firmly together and to the rubber head. A handle is attached to the head to complete the brush.

What is claimed is:

An apparatus for forming bristles having a thick butt end and a relatively thin flag end into a continuous ribbon of bristles which may be used in the manufacture of paint brushes, which comprises an endless belt conveyor, a vertically supported hopper for receiving a supply of bristles arranged so that the butt ends are aligned with each other, said hopper being positioned to hold one end of said bristle supply transversely across the conveyor, means for packing the lower portion of the bristle supply tightly against the conveyor, means for forming from said tightly packed portion of bristles a pad of bristles of predetermined thickness on the conveyor, means for separating the hopper and the bristle supply from the pad formed on the conveyor, means for advancing the conveyor to remove the pad of bristles from the pad forming means, said bristle packing means, pad forming means, bristle supply separating means and the conveyor being actuated intermittently in timed relation with respect to each other so as to successively produce pads of bristles on the conveyor so that the pads form a continuous ribbon of bristles on the conveyor, means for aligning the butt ends of the bristles along one edge of the ribbon, a plurality of thin plates rotated in a supply of liquid cement in a direction to apply liquid cement to the aligned edge of the ribbon of bristles from the upper side of the ribbon down through the butt ends of the bristles, a second plurality of thin plates rotated in said supply of liquid cement in a direction to apply liquid cement to the aligned edge of the ribbon of bristles from the under side of the bristles upwardly through the butt ends of the bristles, means for drying the cement so that it secures the butt ends of the bristles together, means for gripping successive portions of the cemented edge of the ribbon to compress the cemented edge to a predetermined thickness, and means coacting with said gripping means for combing successive portions of the ribbon to remove the bristles not secured to the cemented edge of the ribbon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,101,905 Hopkinson Dec. 14, 1937 2,356,121 Cave Aug. 15, 1944 2,609,241 First Sept. 2, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,441 Great Britain 1895 

